Chronic nicotine administration incrreases binding of [3H]Domperidone in rat nucleus accumbens

Abstract
An apparent inverse relationship between smoking and Parkinson's disease prompted and investigation of the effect of chronic nicotine administration on dopaminergic and serotonergic receptors in rat brain. Nicotine, 0.8 mg/kg, was injected once daily, five times per week, for 6 weeks. In nucleus accumbens the Kd for [3H]domperidone was increased 2–4-fold, and the Bmax was increased 1.5–2-fold. No changes were observed in the binding of [3H]domperidone in caudateputamen or in that of [3H]ketanserin in frontal cortex. It is concluded that chronic nicotine administration may have a suppressant effect on central nervous system release of dopamine that in pre-parkinsonian persons causes an aversion to the effects of smoking.

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